A group of leading Bali hoteliers with environmental expertise have launched ThinkOutsideTheTrash.com (TOTT), a website that galvanises hoteliers in Bali to take a pledge of commitment to taking positive action in reducing Bali’s trash situation. TOTT encourages the island’s hoteliers to commit to preserving Bali’s ecosystem through sustainable waste management, staff education and working with their communities to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
TOTT also promotes those hoteliers who take the public pledge by featuring them on its trash heroes page. Already hotels and resorts including Alila Hotels, Desa Seni, Bambu Indah and Fivelements have signed up as founding members. “Trash is a serious problem, not only in Bali but worldwide,” said Piet Van Zyl group director of engineering and environment for Alila Hotels. “This initiative can do a lot to focus attention on the damage that trash does to the environment and that it is a personal responsibility to reduce, reuse and recycle.”
Hoteliers who take the pledge will be given mentorship and support by the founding members in implementing waste reduction strategies on their properties.
The scheme is run in partnership with Bookgreener.com, an online platform for booking hotels that have environmentally sustainable practices. Speaking with Travindy, Alex Tsuk, founder of Bookgreener, said: “Waste management is a challenge in Bali. Locals use plastic to wrap everything when before they were using banana leaves for instance. The tourism industry, with close to 5,000 hotels, has a strong impact on the island and hotels have a unique opportunity to come together and be part of the solution. If we want to impact the communities, get villagers to stop burning their trash, reduce single used plastic bags and bottles, we should convince some members of these communities to change their habits. It starts by conducting trainings and workshops in hotels, getting the employees to become naturally ambassadors – trash heroes – in their communities.”
Hoteliers working in Bali can sign up here.
